The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) informed Civil Georgia (Civil.ge) on January 20 that the forces of Russian occupation “continue provocative actions” along the dividing line between Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and Georgia proper.

According to the SSG, “they have erected illegal installations on the Georgian central government-controlled territory in Gugutiantkari village of Gori Municipality.”

“Barbed wires are being replaced with so-called border fencing, which is the part of so-called ‘borderization’ [process],” the SSG said. It further added that the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) has been informed, and the EUMM-managed hotline has been activated.

The SSG also noted that the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRMs) were not fully available at this stage, since IPRMs regular meetings were disrupted by Tskhinvali representatives since August 2019, following Chorchana-Tsnelisi crisis.

Georgian State Security Service also responded to the reports on the situation in Chorchana-Perevi area, the western flank of occupied Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia.

A day earlier, on January 19, Davit Katsarava, leader of the “Strength in Unity” anti-occupation vigilante group, spread reports via his Facebook page, saying that occupying forces have marked trees across Chorchana-Perevi area – allegedly readying for another round of “borderization” activities. Katsarava also noted that locals have already “lost the right” to access areas where they could move freely only a couple of months ago. Katsarava further claimed that occupying forces moved the dividing line few hundreds meters deeper into Tbilisi-administered territory near the village of Perevi in Sachkhere Municipality.

The SSG told Civil.ge that they are now “thoroughly inspecting” the mentioned area, and noted that the Government “is reacting adequately to illegal markings and each alleged case of ‘borderization’”, without specifying the measures taken.